Red Riding Hood

Chapter 17

It had been three days since I last kissed Alexei, and honestly, my mind was filled with thoughts of it. I couldn't help but blush as I remembered how luscious his lips felt against mine... how warm and soft it felt against my neck. I still couldn't believe it. I fell in love with a werewolf. I fell in love with the same kind who killed my dad.

No, I told myself firmly. Alexei didn't kill my dad, and he certainly wouldn't kill me, either. Just because my dad was killed by a werewolf doesn't mean that all werewolves were bad beings. But still... Jasper's warning echoed in my mind: Alexei's kind is very dangerous

Just then, I felt a sickening sensation at the pit of my stomach as realization dawned on me. Jasper knew.

Jasper knew that werewolves exist. I wanted to slap myself for not realizing this sooner.

But the question is.... How? How could Jasper possibly know of their existence? He couldn't be possibly a werewolf too, right...?

No, that just wasn't possible. We grew up together, and I didn't witness anything weird.

"Boo!" A familiar voice exclaimed behind me.

I looked back, annoyed. But when I saw Emily right behind me, all annoyance left me. I mean, seriously. How could you get annoyed when a goddess was smiling brightly at you like you're the best thing in the world?

"So," Emily started with an excited voice. "I just heard a particularly juicy gossip about you."

"What?!" I exclaimed. I furrowed my eyebrows together, thinking if I've done anything scandalous lately. I mean, sure. I did kiss the hottest guy in school in my bedroom... in the middle of the night... and I was only wearing a towel. That was pretty scandalous. But I doubt that intimate encounter would leak in school.

Emily grabbed my hand, pulling me closer to her. She half-whispered and half-yelled, "I just heard that Lara tried attacking you and Alexei defended you, and OMG THAT IS JUST SO ROMANTIC!!!!!"

News sure flies fast. 

"It was nothing," I assured her. "There is nothing going on between the two of us."

Which wasn't even a lie, really. Because a kiss does not define a relationship. People kiss all the time, and it doesn't mean they're together. Right?

Emily made a pffft sound. "Yeah, right. I heard you guys totally went out holding hands!"

"We weren't holding hands," I insisted. "More like, he grabbed my hand and dragged me out of the way!"

But Emily wasn't listening. She fired questions that would make any girl blush. "So where did he bring you??? Did you guys kiss??? Did he touch you??? Omg, don't tell me you lost your-"

"Emily," I warned her. "I swear I'll cut your tongue if you don't stop."

She pouted. "That is so unfair! You finally get to hang out with the hottest guy in school, and you're withholding sacred information from me! This is torture! I demand information!"

"What information?" A voice chimed in.

We both looked back and saw Jasper smiling down at us. Some of the bruises on his face had already subsided, but there was still a yellowish mark on his left cheek.

"You feeling better?" I asked him sympathetically.

Jasper ran a hand through his short hair. "As great as I look." He winked at me.

I rolled my eyes. So narcissistic Jasper is back. Just great. Not.

Jasper's smile wavered. "I've got something to say."

I looked up to him, still wary with the knowledge that I recently gained about him.

He looked away from me and stared at my locker with unseeing eyes. "News just recently showed some wolf attacks near the woods." He frowned. "I don't understand why we're suddenly having wolves... I mean, they were gone for a long time."

The black wolf and red wolf surfaced in my mind, causing chills down my spine.

"This is important," Jasper said with a serious expression on his face. "Have you seen wolves lately?"

I licked my lips. "No."

I was seriously going bonkers. Why was I even lying for Alexei?

"Good," Jasper exhaled. "And one more thing, Belle."

I braced myself for his next words.

"Stay away from Alexei."

I stayed there, unmoving. Oh to hell with lying! Let's go with confrontation. "What are you hiding from me?"

Jasper's eyes hardened as he looked down on me. "I'm hiding things that I think you're better off not knowing."

Emily felt the tension in the air, and she cleared her throat awkwardly. "I think I'm going now," she said quietly, as she backed away slowly.

Anger seemed to control me at that moment. I took a step forward and jabbed an accusing finger to his chest. "What?! Like you think I have no right to know that a werewolf is hot on my trail?! You think I had no right to know who's stalking me this moment?!"

I wasn't planning to say that, but my anger took reign of me. I instantly regretted saying it, and I wished for a way to stuff it all back in my mouth.

Jasper's eyes widened, and it immediately narrowed down in anger. "Did Alexei tell you that?"

"And if he did?" I challenged him. "At least he has the decency to tell me the truth! Unlike my own best friend! Do you even really care for me?!"

Hurt was apparent in Jasper's eyes, but I was too mad to feel bad about it. He clamped a hand down on my shoulder, rooting me in place. "You know I care for you more than anything else in the world."

"If that's so," I started. "Then why are you hiding things from me?"

"Because I care for you, damn it!" he shouted. I rolled my eyes. We were going around in circles, I realized. "I care for you, and I don't want to drag you in this world bathed in blood. I've been trying to protect you ever since we were eight years old, Belle."

I stepped away from him, too angry to really understand what he was saying. "Jasper, that means you lied to me my whole life. Talk to me when you're ready to tell the truth."

And then, I walked away from the one person whom I trusted my whole life.